Category Archives: Postcards 2023

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I remember Charlottesville

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It’s not every day that I receive a book like this in the post. This was sent to me by a friend. The author, Nora Neus, is her daughter.

I’m looking forward to reading this, and hope it’ll help me to understand what happened that August in 2017 when the Unite the Right rally came to Charlottesville. The voices apparently are those of witnesses and antiracist activists from across the communities who stood up for the world they believed in as the rally arrived.

The book is not long – a little over 200 pages, mainly composed of interviews, the majority of which Nora Neus carried out herself on the day after the riots. At the time she’d recently started a job in New York with CNN, but happened to be in the city of Charlottesville in Virginia, clearing out her apartment as the drama evolved. Charlottesville had been her home for years, and suddenly it was struggling to absorb the impact of the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who’d brought their Unite the Right rally into the very core of the city. She was right there, understood the city’s rhythm, and tried to capture what happened.

It must have been a deeply unnerving time.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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The meaning of bread

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Bread carries so much meaning.

It is food. It is survival. It is a sign of community. A symbol of hope and love.

When there is plenty, it is taken for granted by those who may never have known its absence. Where there is none, it is treasured beyond measure.

Last night this loaf of brioche – golden and glowing – was presented by an all-female choir of Ukrainian refugees, to their host for the evening. I was lucky enough to get a taste of the delicious bread, and to hear the choir.

It was an emotional evening. There was such passion in the songs, every word ringing out with hope and strength.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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Children – taking us onwards

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Another long drive today listening to the radio. It left my heart splintered with news of violence. And it is our violence. Violence we still seem able to justify as just. Should any cause have the right to claim cruelty as a tool? Should any tool be weaponised against children?

I love knowing children are amongst us. They are the energy of our lives, encouraging us all onwards. And they are the roots of our future, holding us all in place. Yet still we inflict terrible damage on them and their communities. Why? Because we are tangled in bitter spirals, and the struggle to free ourselves only digs the thorns deeper.

What can we do about it? Surely the answer is that we must do what we can with what is within our reach. Learning to be calm. Loving the children around us. Giving them time. Giving them hope. And listening.

May the violence stop.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023